Carpet anchoring device and cover therefor



April 23, 1963 c. R. KRANTZ 3,086,262

CARPET ANCHORING DEVICE AND COVER THEREFOR Filed Sept. 5, 1961 2 sheets sheet 1 INVENTOR. C'un'r/s R. KRANTZ A 7" TOHNE Y5 United States Patent 3,086,262 CARPET ANCHORING DEVICE AND COVER THEREFOR Curtis R. Krantz, Krantz Bros. Rug Service, 2114 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, Minn. Filed Sept. 5, 1961, Ser. No. 135,955 4 Claims. (CI. 20-74) My invention relates generally to floors and floor construction and has for its primary object the provision of novel border strips for flooring which, when installed at the time of initially covering the base floor with a tile covering will, with a minimum of eifort and without damage to the tile covering, permit installation of carpeting at a later date.

A further object of my invention is the provision of border strips of the type above described which include conventional anchoring str-ip elements of the tackless type and elongated bridging strip elements formed from rubber-like material, said bridging strip elements being decorative in nature and completely covering said anchoring strip elements when the tile covering is exposed and in use, but being readily removable to expose said tackless anchoring strip, when it is desired to utilize same for purpose of anchoring the marginal edges of the carpet.

A further object of my invention is the provision of a border strip of the type above described, wherein novel means is provided for anchoring the bridging strip elements to a cooperating baseboard, preferably formed of similar material.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a structure of the type above described which is relatively inexpensive to produce, is easy to install, and which may be readily modified for use either with carpeting or tile covering.

The above and still further objects of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification, appended claims and attached drawings.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view in perspective of a room showing my invention in use with a tile floor covering, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a view in vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing carpeting installed over the tile; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the bridging strip element removed and carpeting installed over the anchoring strip element.

Referring with greater particularity to the drawings, the base floor of the walled area shown is identified by the numeral 1, whereas the wall shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 is identified by the numeral 2. For the purpose of this invention all walls are identical and, therefore, the remaining walls are not numbered. However, the door opening, for reasons hereinafter to become apparent, is identified by the numeral 3.

My invention, and the novel components thereof, are best installed within a given walled area either at the time of the original construction thereof or at a time of complete reconstruction and renovation. In any event at either of such times the base floor 1 is then substantially covered with a tile covering X the marginal edge of which terminates, as indicated at 4a, in inwardly spaced relation to the wall 2 to define therebetween and said wall a narrow area A exposing the original base floor 1. Preferably an'upstanding baseboard 5 is secured to the wall 2 in said area A. Also rigidly secured to the base 3,086,262 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 floor 1, within the area A, by any suitable means, is an anchoring strip 6 which, in more or less conventional manner, is comprised of a plurality of overlying laminations 7 of relatively soft wood, and upwardly and outwardly projecting anchoring pins 8 which, as shown, are the projected upper ends of conventional tacks 9 driven at the desired angle through the anchoring strip 6 from the bottom 10 thereof.

Preferably, and as shown, the anchoring strips 6 have integrally formed laterally inwardly tapering skirt elements 11 which underlie the marginal edges of the tile covering X. It will be noted with respect to FIG. 2 that the tile 4a forming the marginal edge of the tile covering X is reversely tapered so as to match the taper of the skirt 11.

It is extremely important to note, as again shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, that the anchoring strip 6 is secured to the base floor 1 within the area A so that the outer edge 12 thereof is spaced from the inner surface 13 of the baseboard 5, whereby to define an upwardly opening channel 14.

When it is desired to utilize the tile covering X, I cover the exposed anchoring strip 6 and the upstanding anchoring pins 8 by means of a bridging strip 15. As shown, the bridging strip has a relatively long outer leg element 16 which is snugly received within the channel 14 and rests upon the base floor 1. The bridging strip 15 also has a relatively short inner leg 17 which rests upon the tile covering X immediately outwardly of the bridging strip 15. The elongated cavity 18 defined by the bridging strip 15 receives the anchoring strips 6 and upstanding anchoring pins 8, whereas the horizontal bridging portion 19 provides a decorative and protective cover for said elements. I

The bridging strip 15 may be formed from any rubberlike material, such as one of the vinyl plastics. When formed from such material a suitable anchoring means may be provided such as a horizontally disposed laterally outwardly projecting rib 29 which is formed integrally with the outer leg 16 and is snugly receivable within a horizontally extending outwardly opening groove 21 formed in the lower end portion of the baseboard 5. Because of the flexible and 'displaceable character of the material from which the bridging strip 15 is formed, it is relatively simple to place the same in and remove same from the operative position of FIGS. 1 and 2.

It will be noted with respect to FIG. 2 that the anchoring strip 6 projects above the horizontal plane of the tile covering X. This is of importance when, for one reason or another, it becomes desirable to cover the tile covering X with a layer of carpeting Y. When a given walled area is equipped with my novel invention, as above described, it is but necessary to remove the bridging strips 15 about the wall or walls 2, cut the desired carpeting Y to approximate size for the room or area in question, and stretch the carpeting Y taut by means of conventional tools provided for this purpose. The upstanding anchoring pins 8 will project through the woven backing 22 but preferably, and as shown in FIG. 5, will be concealed and protected by the upstanding pile 23 of the carpet Y. Preferably, and m shown, the extreme marginal edges 24 of the carpeting Y are caused to project downwardly into the recess 14, formerly occupied by the outer leg 16 of the bridging strip 15. In this manner a very pleasant appearing and highly efficient carpeting job is accomplished with an absolute minimum of effort. Note particularly that the combined height of the tile covering X and the padding Z, conventionally interposed between a base floor and carpeting Y, is substantially equal to that of the anchon ing strip 6, thereby making a relatively level surface over which to lay the carpeting Y.

It should be clear that, if for any reason it becomes desirable to abandon the carpeting Y in favor of the tile covering X, that this may be done merely by removing the marginal edges of the carpeting Y from the anchoring strips 6 and replacement of the bridging strips 15, as indicated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

With respect to the door opening 3, I preferably treat this by interposing thereacross an elongated threshold 25 which is adhesively secured to the tile covering X, said threshold 25 being placed in position only when carpeting Y is utilized. The threshold 25 is also preferably formed from rubber-like material, such as vinyl plastic, and its upper surface in inwardly spaced relation to its outer edge 26 is slit as at 27 to provide a resilient inwardly and upwardly raisable lip 28. It may be here noted when carpeting Y is in use, as indicated in FIG. 4, the extreme outer edge 25 thereof is received under the lip 28, said outer edge 29 being held in place by adhesive as indicated at 39.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the above objects, and while I have shown a preferred embodiment thereof, I wish it to be understood that same is capable of modification without departure from the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Floor construction comprising a base floor, an upstanding Wall-engaging baseboard supported at its lower end by said base floor, a tile covering overlying the greater area of said base fioor and exposing a marginal area of said base floor inwardly of said baseboard, an elongated anchoring strip secured to said base floor within said marginal area, the inner edge of said anchoring strip abutting said tile covering and the outer edge thereof being spaced from said baseboard and defining therebetween and said baseboard an upwardly opening channel, an elongated bridging strip formed from rubber-like material and overlying said anchoring strip, said bridging strip element having a relatively long leg received in said channel and resting upon said base floor, and a relatively short leg resting upon said tile covering adjacent the inner edge of said anchoring strip, and means associated with said upstanding baseboard releasably securing said bridging strip in overlying relation to said anchoring strip.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said anchoring strip is provided with a laterally inwardly tapering skirt which underlies the adjacent marginal edge of said tile covering.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said anchoring strip element comprises an elongated slat having a plurality of laterally and longitudinally spaced pointed carpet piercing elements which extend in the direction of said baseboard, and in which said slat projects above the level of said tile covering to an extent corresponding roughly to the thickness of carpet padding.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said last-mentioned means comprises a laterally inwardly opening groove on said baseboard adapted to snugly receive a laterally projecting rib on said long leg.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 397,598 McCleary d. Feb. 12, 1889 2,130,041 Slaughter Sept. 13, 1938 2,238,946 Roberts Apr. 22, 1941 2,487,571 Maxwell Nov. 8, 1949 

1. FLOOR CONSTRUCTION COMPRISING A BASE FLOOR, AN UPSTANDING WALL-ENGAGING BASEBOARD SUPPORTED AT ITS LOWER END BY SAID BASE FLOOR, A TILE COVERING OVERLYING THE GREATER AREA OF SAID BASE FLOOR AND EXPOSING A MARGINAL AREA OF SAID BASE FLOOR INWARDLY OF SAID BASEBOARD, AN ELONGATED ANCHORING STRIP SECURED TO SAID BASE FLOOR WITHIN SAID MARGINAL AREA, THE INNER EDGE OF SAID ANCHORING STRIP ABUTTING SAID TILE COVERING AND THE OUTER EDGE THEREOF BEING SPACED FROM SAID BASEBOARD AND DEFINING THEREBETWEEN AND SAID BASEBOARD AN UPWARDLY OPENING CHANNEL, AN ELONGATED BRIDGING STRIP FORMED FROM RUBBER-LIKE MATERIAL AND OVERLYING SAID ANCHORING STRIP, SAID BRIDGING STRIP ELEMENT HAVING A RELATIVELY LONG LEG RECEIVED IN SAID CHANNEL AND RESTING UPON SAID BASE FLOOR, AND A RELATIVELY SHORT LEG RESTING UPON SAID TILE COVERING ADJACENT THE INNER EDGE OF SAID ANCHORING STRIP, AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID UPSTANDING BASEBOARD RELEASABLY SECURING SAID BRIDGING STRIP IN OVERLYING RELATION TO SAID ANCHORING STRIP. 